From Horse-Crazy Girl to International Equine Educator

I started riding, like a lot of us, at six years old. I was obsessed with horses and my family FINALLY gave me lessons as a graduation present for kindergarten.

But my parents were divorced. So my riding lessons were every Tuesday, but only during the Summer months.

And OH how I longed for my next time in the saddle, in between.

I would massage my aching calf muscles.

I would “post the trot” on the arm of our oversized couch.

I would imagine, in GREAT detail, what sailing over a jump would feel like.

Little did I know I was priming my brain to succeed!

BUT…the school I was taking lessons with began to ignore me.

I had gotten up to the same level as a lot of their intercollegiate athletes.

Money is King, so they began to nurture their intercollegiate athletes, and ignored the 10 year old, just taking lessons.

It was heartbreaking.

I tried as hard as I could. I prepared as much as I could. I studied as much as I could.

And I still spent an entire year in two-point at the trot.

Disheartened, I gave up.

A few years later my mom remarried and we moved out of the city into a small little farmette and I got my first two horses!

Dooley and Belmont.

I had finally achieved every little girl’s dream!

Except I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t have a trainer. My parents weren’t horsey people. I didn’t even have any horsey friends I could hang out with.

A few trips to the ER later (hello broken toes, and a broken kneecap), I was defeated, again, and let them just be pasture ornaments.

My teenage years were rough. I suffered from depression and had lost my dream of someday becoming a world-famous horse trainer…or at least rider.

Luckily my mom’s boss played polo at the time and really encouraged her to bring me out to try it.

Polo isn’t nearly as fancy as you probably think it is. Honestly, it’s a bunch of enthusiastic horse lovers who just want to play a fun sport and have a good time!

Now remember, I hadn’t been riding for a few years at this point, and was an awkward, shy teenager.

After a brief introduction to the rules and how to hold the mallet, I found myself hanging halfway off my horse reaching for a ball and to hook an opponent’s mallet.

I was HOOKED. (Pun intended)

I would go on to play polo throughout high school it just being around horses and other horse-crazy people and having my next lesson to look forward to really helped with my depression.

When it was time to go off to college, I thought I chose a rational degree and began my Freshman year getting into Archeology.

While I enjoyed the classes, finding myself without any access to any horses was difficult.

Flat out – I couldn’t do it.

I began volunteering at a riding school an hour away.

I found old horsey books in the school library and would spend every free moment reading and taking notes.

Finally, I just decided I couldn’t do it anymore. I applied for an equine studies degree at Virginia Intermont College.

I got in and transferred my Softmore year.

Virginia Intermont College was essentially the Harvard of equestrian degrees.

The school’s foundation was its equestrian degree. I’d say at least 75% of the people that went to VI were there for its equestrian program.

Virginia Intermont was one of the best times of my life.

You’d walk through the quad or the cafeteria and see a handful of girls still in their boots and breaches after a lesson or ride.

I was emersed in all things horse.

I took classes like:

  • Farrier Science
  • Equine Nutrition
  • Equine Conformation
  • Stable Management
  • Equine Anatomy and Physciology
  • Equine Reproduction
  • Equine Instruction
  • Schooling Techniques

Talk about a kid in a candy shop!